Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-07
INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
First Annual Report Mado by tho
Commission.
The Long aud Short Haul Clause
Causes Temporary Suspensions.
A Gratifying Advance in Conforming
Rates to That Clause.
Comulaiuts Of Secret Rebates to Fa'
: vored Shippers.
Uniform Freight Classlhcations Still
Needed.

WARRINGTON. December 2.-Ths fret
annual report OF the Interstate Commerce
Commission has been laid before the Sec.
retary of the Interior. After dealing briefly
with tho magnitude OF the interest which
the act undertakes to regulate, the Com
mission devotss a dozen pages to an bis
toric sketch of the country's t~ransporta-
ton facilities from the packhorse OF tn
earliest days to the mammoth institutions
O; the present year., tracing back to their
or;pin all these uses and abuses which
finally led 10 the passage o! the Interstate
act. The Commissiousayssome otthe rail-
road practices which the act undertakes to
hiring to an en- have been common among
carriers by water als". and ii wrong in
themselves might he Justly forbidden in
their case 10 well. The commission Is Of
opinion that the express business hnuld
be dc ne by the railroad companies them
selves. Within the act, whether express
companies which are independent OF
he railroads are within contemplation
of the act is more doubtful. In
regard to sleeping car compa
MES, live stock car companies and oilcom'
panies which transport in tank cars, the
commission say they are as much
SUBJECT TO TEMPTATION
to discriminate as railroads are. The fact
ia laid before Congress- for such action as it
NAV choose to take. The long and short
haul clause is exhaustiveIy discussed, to.
yether with the reason OF the Commission
for temporarily suspendins the provisions
in Ger tain sections, and they say in part:
The consid. %ratinns which were influential
in determining when these temporary or
ders should be granted were not more to
"a We c~arriers from danger OF loss than the
prevention Of threatened disturbance OF
business interests in certain localities.
which, by it's ref.x action, seemed liable to
embarrass the entire country" The Com.
mission takes pleasure in being able to re.
port that in large sections OF the country
obedience to the general letter OF the
fourth section ia without important
exceptions. Reviewing railway opera
tions during the period which has
ella psed since the act too effect, the
Commission says that ~hiie less has
been done in the direction uf bringing
freight tariffs into conf 'r,nity with the gem
cral rule prescribed by the fourth section
than some persons expected, there has
that direction and there is every reason to
believe that this will continue. The COM
mission, after quoting the section which
empowers it to
INQUIRE INTO TIE BUsINEss
of all common carrier, says: This is an
important provision and the commission
will no doubt have frequent occasion to
take action under it.. There is every reason
to believe that some OF the worst discrimi.
nations. which were notorious in the rail.
way service before the passage OF the act
and were in leg stature given as reasons for
it's enactment, have 10Y almost ceased to
exist. One OF these was the giving Of special
and secret IT bates. Complaints OF uni list
discrimination AMI giving preferences by
open rates are still frequent, and in exist.
ing tariffs there are many rates which, IS
compared with others made by the same
carriers, seem to DC Unfair and oppressive.
Being now compelled to justify their rates
when called on. the Commission finds mana
gers more cautious about doing injustice.
On the subject of complaints, the report
says that in a majority of cases the com
%plainant has been found to be mistu ken in
the facts. or IL %wronged, it has been through
carelessness or mistake Of the agent, which
the carrier readily corrected. The Com
mission urges the desirability Ut
UN1FoRM FREIGHT CL~Ass1FiCATIoNs
throughout the country, but doubts the
ability to reach the matter by legislation
while without it there il a 2raduslapproach
to uniformity, effected by the railroads
the ms, Ives. The Commission says: The
pooling Of ireights and OF railroad earnings,
30 far a. the Commission has knowledge or
information OF the subject, ANS TO an
end when the act took effect, but as the
pooling was only one OF several purposes
had in view in forming railroad aesocia-
tions, the leading associations have not
been dissolved, but have been con-
tjnued in existencefo for other objects. Among
these objects are the making of regulations
for uninterrupted and harmonious railroad
communication and exchange OF rattle
within territory embraced by their work.
ings. Some regulations in addition to
these. by legislation, are almost ii not alto.
gether Indispensable. Thus, while the sew
enth section Of the act torb:ds carriers pre-
venting shipments from being continuous
by the device II changing time schedules,
carriage in different cars, etc, it has not
undertaken to provide for the making Of
such tirue schedules as would furnish con-
tinuous shipment. or to prescr!bs rules for
the loading and movement OF cara for that